Eyes up here, mister.
Your next iPhone or iPad may come equipped with gaze detection technology, if a new patent application filed by Apple means anything.
The patent application details a function that could read your eye movement, detect when you're looking at the screen and respond accordingly.
"An electronic device may have gaze detection capabilities that allow the device to detect when a user is looking at the device," the filing said. "When the device detects that the user has looked away from the device, the device may dim a display screen and may perform other suitable actions. The device may pause a video playback operation when the device detects that the user has looked away from the device."
Naturally, the device would resume video playback operation when you look back at it. The detection circuitry could also be powered down when sensor data indicates readings won't be reliable or needed.
The feature would be similar, but not identical, to Samsung's proposed eye scrolling technology (Samsung has filed for a 'Samsung Eye Scroll' trademark and an 'Eye Pause' patent), which will actually rely on facial recognition and tilt rather than eye tracking.
Hopefully that's a significant enough difference to stop Samsung from banning Apple devices that use the technology.
(Via Mashable)
